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‘Oceans Are the Real Continents’ Review: A Lush and Lyrical Vision of Contemporary Cuba in Black and White
'Oceans Are the Real Continents,' Tommaso Santambrogio’s triptych of contemporary Cuba, is at once a soulful and sterile kind of travelogue.
There is a ravishing kind of beauty in Tommaso Santambrogio ’s lyrical triptych of contemporary Cuban life, “ Oceans Are the Real Continents.” With black and white cinematography that privileges an exacting formalism throughout, this portrait of the island works hard to defamiliarize the very sun-dappled, colorful image of Cuba that so dominates the cultural imaginary. There’s an arresting beauty in scenes as simple as Frank and his brother on a balcony playing with toys at night away from their bickering parents; or of Milagros sitting in her patio as rain-soaked letters dry on her clothesline; or even of Alex and Edith lounging naked in one another’s arms in bed, the two lost in in each other’s embrace. For example, when Alex instructs his kids during a workshop to tap into the nature around them — “We’ll build a bridge between our memory, our existence and the reality of our surroundings” — it feels as if he’s spelling out Santambrogio’s mission for his film, which is admirable and beautifully realized.
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